Former Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony Principi, who was instrumental in securing the site for the Miramar cemetery, attended the dedication ceremony.
— Earnie Grafton / Union-Tribune

MIRAMAR NATIONAL CEMETERY

Where: 5795 Nobel Drive, at the intersection of Interstate 805.

Size: 313 acres, of which 164 will be used for burials. When completed, the cemetery will provide 235,000 grave sites and columbarium facilities. It also will have a memorial walkway with interpretive displays that highlight the wildlife that live there, including the endangered California gnatcatcher and fairy shrimp. A memorial wall and a statue for prisoners of war also will be erected.

First phase: Ground was broken yesterday, and the initial job will cost at least $20 million. The work is expected to be completed by next year. This phase will develop 42 acres, which will provide 11,500 grave sites; 4,500 in-ground cremation sites; 10,000 columbarium niches; and administrative and maintenance facilities.

First interment: Expected to be in September, for 10 service members.

MIRAMAR  A rifle salute and taps yesterday marked the end of a decade-long search for a new military cemetery to supplement Fort Rosecrans, which has been full and closed to casket burials for veterans for 45 years.

The groundbreaking of the 313-acre Miramar National Cemetery on Miramar Marine Corps Air Station also lifted a burden off the shoulders of two veterans who endured red tape and battled detractors to find a spot that eventually would be the resting place of 235,000 veterans.

Yesterday, the two architects, former Secretary of Veteran Affairs Anthony Principi and San Diego retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Robert Cardenas, surveyed the vast expanse of scrub land under billowing clouds, took in the crisp, chilly air, and said they were ready to begin the final journey to honor those who serve.

“This is the right thing to do,” said Principi, who once lived in Rancho Santa Fe and who served in Vietnam. “I fought in war and combat, and always felt very strongly about men and women who served. The nation owes a debt of gratitude to them when they pass.

“We need to provide interment space for them in hallowed grounds so the nation can remember them.”

The VA is in the midst of the largest cemetery expansion since the Civil War because of the growing number of aging veterans.

Getting to the Miramar groundbreaking has not been easy, Principi said.

“There were those in government who said we shouldn’t establish a cemetery in San Diego,” he said. “They felt we should use Riverside National Cemetery. It’s too far for survivors to drive to Riverside.

“We fought them. We just worked very, very hard. I was frustrated, but it made me more and more determined.”

With the support of San Diego congressional representatives, the project began to take shape.

In San Diego, Cardenas and fellow veterans kept the project alive.

It took time to choose from private and miliary sites to find one that is big enough to serve veterans’ needs, said Cardenas, a World War II veteran and chairman of the Fort Rosecrans and Miramar National Cemetery Support Foundation.

The environmental review took several more years, he said. The study concluded that the cemetery would disturb wildlife habitats, including those of the endangered California gnatcatcher. So, to compensate, the VA bought roughly 16 acres of gnatcatcher territory near Mission Trails Regional Park.